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Rating: 
Summary: this book is supreme.
Review: Fantasy-lovers, take heed! Madouc is third in one of the greatest fantasy trilogies ever written. You will fall in love with the fairy changeling/royal princess whose search for her heritage takes you on a merry chase. Read all three of the Lyonesse books by Jack Vance-you won't regret it. A note: Madouc won the award for Grand Fantasy in the year 1990.
Rating:
Summary: it breaks my heart
Review: How can this book possibly be out of print? What madness has overtaken the human race, that junk like Gene Wolfe or Dragonlance rules the bestseller list, while this, the supreme accomplishment in the history of the fantasy genre, languishes in relative obscurity? Jack Vance is so irresistable, so indescribable, that I won't bother to try to summarize Lyonesse; that's for fourth-grade book reports. Suffice it to say that it will haunt your dreams the way Lord of the Rings or Elric or any of the other greats of the genre do, only Vance writes much better (and funnier) prose. For the love of all that is holy, get this book, and somehow or another get it back in print with a major publisher.
Rating:
Summary: A Charming Changeling
Review: Madouc, the third book in Vance's Lyonesse Trilogy, is probably the best. The first two books, Suldrun's Garden and The Green Pearl, are wonderful, but the title character, Madouc, and her search for her pedigree, are among the most charming characters and quests in fantasy. She steals the show.Casimir, the relentlessly scheming king of Lyonesse, has learned the child he thought was his grandaughter, Madouc, is in fact a fairy changeling. That is somehow wrapped up in the mystery of Dhrun, son of King Ailias of Troicenet, of whom it was prophecied by a magic mirror that he would be the king of all the Elder Isles. Not if Casimir can help it. He wants that throne for himself. And there are much larger, darker schemes afoot, as the evil magician Tamurello and the mysterious witch Desmei plot against Murgen, the Elder Isle's greatest wizard, who alone keeps the Elder Isles from sinking into the sea. And into this web of political and magical intrigue wanders Madouc, determined to learn her pedigree, possessed of a bit of her fairy mother's magic and a truly wonderful charm all her own. It is Madouc who sets this novel apart from other fantasies. Vance does a splendid job creating a central figure who will beguile and amaze you. Vance blends myths from half a dozen cultures into a seamless whole. The Elder Isles are saved, if at a terrible cost. The kingship is resolved, after a terrible war. And Madouc even learns her pedigree. The book is full of surprises, and sly references to other legends. As just one example, you will learn how the Holy Grail got to where Sir Gallahad could find it... You should read the whole Trilogy. If for some reason you cannot, read Madouc. It's a wonderful conclusion to a wonderful trilogy.
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